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Republicans' fear is showing with flimsy accusation against Joe Hogsett

Why didn't more mature voices — yes, that includes Greg Ballard — step in to prevent this public relations disaster, one that says far more about the fear and desperation of local Republicans than it does about Joe Hogsett?

So afraid, that the county party stages a press conference 15 months ahead of the election to accuse the former U.S. attorney and likely mayoral candidate of a federal crime with only the weakest of evidence to support the accusation.

What were they thinking?

And why didn't more mature voices — yes, that includes Greg Ballard — step in to prevent this public relations disaster, one that says far more about the fear and desperation of local Republicans than it does about Hogsett?

Listen, I like Greg Ballard as mayor. He can be frustratingly thin-skinned, stubborn and tone deaf at times, but he's also been a far more visionary and productive leader than even his closest allies anticipated when he was first elected.

Indy is, in many ways, a better city because Ballard has been mayor since 2008. Despite enduring a deep national recession and severe fiscal restraints, the city has polished its Downtown, become a stronger magnet for young professionals, invested in a big way in long neglected streets and sidewalks, emerged as an education reform leader, and raised its national and international profile.

He also recently announced a smart proposal for attacking the biggest problems — crime, education, jobs — facing the city.

So run on the record, instead of resorting to cheap, largely unsubstantiated allegations against a guy who hasn't even declared his candidacy yet.

At Wednesday's news conference, Marion County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Walker acknowledged that the GOP's charge that Hogsett violated the federal Hatch Act is based on circumstantial evidence. (The Hatch Act forbids sitting U.S. attorneys from campaigning for elected office.)

The lead example: Former Sen. Evan Bayh met with reporters to voice support for his longtime colleague and friend on the same day that Hogsett announced his resignation as U.S. attorney.

That's pretty weak sauce.

Ballard's team has told me they expect Hogsett to run a bruising campaign based on past experience. And Democrats almost certainly will hit Ballard hard and often if he does run for a third term.

But getting in the first low blow isn't a smart tactic when it makes Republicans themselves, and by extension Ballard, look so bad.

It would be naive to think that either side will run high-minded campaigns focused solely on the many challenges facing this city. The race between two strong candidates will be too competitive, and the perceived stakes too high, to expect an entirely clean affair.

It's beyond disappointing, however, that one side decided to start at the bottom, and dig deeper.

Swarens is The Star's opinion editor. Email him at tim.swarens@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @tswarens.